Aerial machine



(N0 Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. CAIRNCRGSS. AERIAL MACHINE.

Patented July 22, 1890.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets---She'v 2.

S. CAIRNGROSS.

AERIAL MACHINE.

No. 432,860. Patented July 22, 1890.

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4s. GAIRNGROSS.'

AERIAL MACHINE.

No. 432,860. Patented July 22, 1890.

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STEVART OAIRNCROSS, OF GRAFTON, NORTH DAKOTA.

AERIAL. MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 432,860, dated July 22, 1890. Application filed February 10, 1890. Serial No. 339,828. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, STEWART CAIRNcRoss, residing at Grafton, in the county of IValsh and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aerial Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of airships wherein suitable mechanism is conxo nected to the gas-bag or balloon proper which serves to raise the machine and propel and steer the same when in the air.

y My invention has forits object to construct an air-ship of this character-which will be light in weight but strongly built, and which can be quickly manipulated by the operator, so as to ascend or descend and to travel in any desired direction.

To this end my invention consists in proo viding a suitable frame to which the gas-bag is held by means of the usual netting, and to the lower face of such frame is disposed a shaft, upon the outer end of which is secured a propelling-wheel, which is operated by z5 means of intermediate gearing devices dissition.

It also consists in adjusting the balloonframe and the propeller-wheel in relation to such depending frame or cage and connecting it therewith so that the said balloon-frame 3 5 and the propeller can be turned to any angle between one to ninety, so as to cause the propeller to rise up in the direction desired.

It further consists in adjusting the several parts of the machine in such a manner that 4o the same will normally raise a predetermined weight-e. g., one hundred and twenty-five pounds-whereby when the operator steps into the cage his Weight will serve to hold the ship from rising, necessitating his operating the propeller-wheel to supply the power necessary to raise the dierence of his weight and the normal capacity of the machine.

Finally, my invention consists in the novel arrangement and peculiar combination of 5o parts, all of which will hereinafter be fully described in the annexed specification, and 4particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side View of my improved.

aerial machine, the balloon proper and the propeller being disposed in a horizontal position to more clearly illustrate the relation of the parts. Fig. 2 is a front View of the same, the balloon-frame and propeller being shown in vertical position, parts being broken away. Fig. 3 is a rear view of the machine, the parts being in the position shown in Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a detail View hereinafter referred to.

In the accompanying drawings, A indicates the main orballoon frame, which is constructed of any light material, preferably bamboo, formed in sections and jointed in any wellknown manner, the under side of suoli frame being covered by a light glazed covering a,

such as silesia.

B denotes a shaft disposed horizontally below the frame A, j ournaled in bearings b l), held upon the parallel members a a of the frame A, as most clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the rear end of such, shaft being also journaled in a transverse member a2 of such frame. The front end of the shaft B is extended beyond the frame A and forms a bearing for the propeller-wheel D, which may be of any wellknown construction, being braced to saidshaft to turn therewith.

In the rearward extension a4 of the members a a are journaled short shafts c o', arranged in the saine horizontal plane, upon which is hung the supporting frame or cage E, which consists of the hangers e e, the upper ends of which are forked and supported from the shafts c c', as shown, the lower ends of which are connected with and support the platform F, being braced therewith by the braces ff, a suitable screen f being provided on said platform to form a frame or cage for the navigator. A transverse crank-shaft G is journaled in the hangers e e at' a convenient height from the platform F, the cranks g g of which are connected by means of pitmen Il H with foot-levers I I, pivoted in the platform F, the outer ends of the shaft G being provided with crank-handles g g', as shown. A sprocket-wheel .I is mounted upon the shaft G, which communicates motion by means of the chain-belt K to a similar wheel IOC mounted on the shaft c at the upper end of v the cage the inner end of such shaft being provided wit-ha bevel-gear L, which meshes With a bevel-gear M on the rear end of the propeller shaft B. By the aforesaid con struction it will be observed that the operator may turn thc crank-shaft G by means of the crank-handles g', or in case he desires to rest his arms by means of the foot-levers I I or in case of necessity he can operate the crank-handles and the foot-levers at the same time, and thereby communicate motion to the propeller-wheel D. To prevent any undue friction on the shaft c', which might be caused by the weight of the hanger e of the frame E, which is supported therefrom, I provide that part of the rear end of the member a through 'which said shaft passes with a sleeve or hub 10, and from the transverse member a2 projects a bracket S, provided with a hub 20, in

which is journaled the outer end of such shaft c.

By reference to Fig. 4t of the drawings, which clearly shows the arrangement of the shaft c and its supports, it will be observed that I hang the supporting-bar e on the hubs lO and 20, thereby placing all the strain of the said supporting-bar on the frame A and not on the shaft c.

N denotes the gas -receptacle or balloon proper, which is held on the top of the frame A by means of the netting usually employed, which normally is always .inflated to the proper buoyancy, no matter whether the machine is at rest or is in operation.

O denotes the steering-vane, pivoted at o yto the frame Aat one side of thel center of the said frame at the rear end thereof to swing horizontally, the front end of such vane being connected by means of the cords which pass over suitably-arranged guide-rollers 30 and 40 on the frame A and guide-pulleys 50 and 60 on the hanger-frame E, the pulley 60 being provided with a handle 70 and disposed within easyAreach of the navigator, so that he may readily operate the steering-vane, as the occasion may require.

P indicates a stay or guide rope connected at its ends with the front and rear edges of the frame A, said rope passing over a pulley 80, within easy reach of the navigator on the lower portion of one of the hanger-bars e, such rope being held to maintain its proper relation during the swinging motion of the frame A by means of a dolphin striker or stick Q, secured at its upper end to the frame A, its lower end projected in advance of the guide-pulley 8O and connected to said rope, as shown.

To allow for the frame A being turned to an almost vertical position, I form the rear part with `a cut-away portion A2, which admits of the easy manipulation of the operating mechanism.

The manner of operating my improved airship is as follows: The machine, when on ground, has the frame A in the position shown in Fig. 2, being held to the ground by means of suitable guy-ropes or in any other manner. The aeronaut then steps onto the platform, his Weight serving to hold the machine from ascending. The other means for holding it down are then released. The aeronaut then operates the crank-shaftV G, which in turn will cause the propeller to revolve in a direction to cause the atmospheric pressure to raise the machine from the ground. After the machine rises from the ground a height sufficient to clear objects the frame A is lowered toward a horizontal position; but in practice Ait is never lower thanabout fifteen to twenty degrees, such movement being accomplished by turning the pulley 80, thereby turning down the frame on its pivots c c to the position desired. By adjusting the steering-vane in the manner before described the operator can cause the machine to move in the direction desired.

By my improved construction it will be observed I have reduced the total weight of the machine, so that the same will be very light and buoyant, and when the same has ascended to the height desired (such ascension being made vertically when at the start and diagonally upward and forward when traveling) the operator can at any time, by turning the frame A to a vertical position and slowing the movement of the crank-shaft G, cause the machine to descend, thereby having the movement of the descent under ready control. Should, however, the downward movement of the machine become too rapid in case the balloon should collapse, the operator can turn the frame A to a horizontal position, which,

owing to its peculiar construct-ion, would serve to act in the manner of a parachute and quickly check the downward momentum of the machine.

It is manifest that instead of arranging the parts to carry but one person and he operate the mechanism, that the same relation of the power of raising a given amount may be retained .in case 1t is desired to form a large car at the bottom of the hanging frame E to carry passengers or freight, and that any suitably constructed and operated engine may be employed, which may be located in such car to provide the required power necessary to drive the propeller-wheel.

I desire it understood that I do not desire to limit myself to the exact details of construction shown, as these may be readily varied without departing from the broad principle of my invention. Neither do I show or confine myself to anypartcular construction of the propeller-wheel, as such wheel may also be varied according to the power which may be required on differently constructed and Weighted balloon-frames made according to my invention.

It is obvious that the propeller-frame and the balloon-frame A to have the required strength should be suitably braced by means of suitable strut-braces 25 35, as shown.

Having thus described my invention, what IIO I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. An air-shi p composed of a balloon-frame A, provided with the bag'N on its upper face, a propeller-wheel D, journaled thereon at one end, a depending cage or frame E, pivotally connected at its upper end to the balloonframe, a crank-shaft journaled in the lower end of the cage, means for operating said crank, as shown, intermediate gearing devices between said crank-shaft and the propellershaft, a guide-rope P, secured at its ends to the opposite ends of the frame A and passed over a guide near the lower end of the cage, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, with the balloon-frame A, provided with the members a et', the shaft c, journaled in inner end of one of said members, the coincident end of the opposite members provided with an apertured hub, a transverse brace or member formed with a depending bracket provided with an apertured hub, the shaft o journaled in said hubs, provided at its inner end with a bevel-gear L, and the shaft B, journaled between the members d a', provided with a bevel-gear M at its inner end meshing` with the gear L and a propeller- Wheel at its outer end, of the depending' frame or cage E, consisting of the bars e e, having` forked upper ends, one of said bars hung on the shaft c, the opposite bar hung' on the apertured hubs, the lower end of said cage provided with a platform, foot-levers pivoted thereon, a crank-shaft G mounted on said bars, pitmen H, connecting` said shait Gand the foot-levers, said shaft G provided with crank-handles, a chain-belt connection between said shafts G and c', and a connection between the frame A and the lower end of the cage, whereby the said frame may be swung to a vertical position, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination, with the balloon-frame A, provided with a propeller-wheel and a depending dolphin-stick Q, of the frame or cage pivotally hung to said frame A, intermediate gear mechanism between said propeller-wheel and the cage E, means for operating said gear mechanism mounted on said frame or cage E, a pulley mounted on the lower portion of said frame E, and the guiderope secured to the rear end of the frame A, passed over the pulley 80, secured to the lower end of the dolphin-stick, its tree end connected to the front end of the frame A, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

STEWART CAIRNCROSS. 

